International Product Categories Quiz

Marketing Decisions: The Product and the Brand

• The presentation covers marketing decisions, focusing on the product and brand aspects in international contexts.
• Agenda items include introduction to international marketing, market selection, market entry, role of culture, marketing decisions (product/brand), international pricing, international distribution, and international communication/advertising.
• Further subtopics include segmentation/targeting, standardization vs. adaptation, brand naming, other branding elements (color/logo), cultural positioning strategies, and the country-of-origin effect.

Multi-segment Marketing

• Building brands across various markets requires understanding universal truths separate from culture-specific contexts.
• Brands can be linked to universal truths that transcend markets, such as a mother's dilemma between convenience and healthy nutrition.
• Understanding culture-specific values and lifestyles of target audiences is important for effective communication strategies.
• Minority target audiences may share similarities despite overall differences between markets.

Targeting Segments Internationally

• Assess market segment size and growth potential.
• Analyze existing competition and their strengths/weaknesses (price/quality).
• Evaluate the feasibility of adaptation and compatibility, considering factors like sales expectations, import restrictions, tariffs, and currency fluctuations.

Developing Products for Different Markets

• Technical development and testing of products should be conducted locally to gain a better understanding of specific needs, for example, Indian men.
• Successfully adapting existing products involves examining local consumption patterns, habits, and privacy concerns.

Product vs. Brands: The Product-Brand Matrix

• This matrix illustrates four possible combinations of local/global products and brands.
• Examples of each of these combinations are given, like La Salamandra, Tsingtao beer, Milka Alfajores, and Coca-Cola.

Standardizing vs. Differentiating Brands

• Brands can be standardized, partially standardized, or differentiated depending on the market and product.
• Examples are given in a table format, illustrating how Marlboro (standardized), Domestos (differentiated), and various other brands exhibit these approaches.

Adaptation of Brand Names

• The name of a brand can have various implications across different markets and cultures.
• Examples are presented, highlighting how brands may need different names in different countries. For e.g., Meister Proper (Germany) vs. Mr. Clean (USA) and KFC/Poulet Frit Kentucky.

Local Brands and Strategic Advantages

• Local brands can offer great flexibility to adapt to specific consumer requirements.
• These brands may enter new markets faster through acquisitions.
• Local brands benefit from a strong presence and a better understanding of the market.
• Examples include products like Unilever ice cream or Coca Cola.

Desirable Characteristics of Brand Names

• Brand names should be simple, pronounceable, and memorable.
• Ideally, names should have positive connotations and be relevant to the product category.
• They should offer a distinctive and extendable image, be extraordinary and protectable.

International Brand Names: A Challenge

• Brand names can have different meanings in different languages.
• Accurate translation is crucial to avoid misunderstandings or adverse reactions.
• Local expertise is necessary to avoid inappropriate implications.

English vs. Chinese Brands

• Brand names are often adapted for the local market, with only a small percentage sticking to original English names in China.
• Transliteration of the original brand name (linking the name based on sound) is a common practice.
• More Chinese than English brand names are associated with favorable attributes, like "well being" and "treasure".

The Power of Sound

• Brand names can affect consumer perceptions based on sound, e.g., how the name suggests attributes of the product.

Sound Symbolism

• The sound of brand names affects perceptions related to the product, like the product's size, speed, or other characteristics.
• This can affect whether consumers view a brand as, e.g., larger, smaller, stronger, or lighter.

Back and Front Vowels

• Different vowel sounds have interpretations (e.g., size) in different cultures.

Sound Symbolism Effects in International Brand Names

• Evaluating brand names in different languages reveals specific country preferences.
• Findings suggest that sound and meaning do vary, but some patterns can be observed across countries, even when relating to the size of a product.

Color as a Branding Element

• Color is important, as specific colors may have associations or implied meanings in different cultures.
• These associations influence how a brand is perceived.

Color Has Meaning: Associations of Colors

• Different colors evoke different feelings and associations, often varying across cultures (e.g., red implies festivity and good luck in China).

Colors Share Similar Meanings: Implications

• Many colors and their associated meanings are consistent among countries.
• It's crucial to understand color associations to successfully communicate a brand.

The Visual Aspect in Packaging

• Using motivated visual cues (rather than arbitrary ones) helps consumers to understand the meanings of graphic designs more efficiently and across various cultures.
• Visuals that resonate with relevant cultural associations are more beneficial.

Universal Design Dimensions—Logo Design

• Logo designs are based on three primary, almost universally recognized, dimensions: elaborateness, naturalness, and harmony.
• Designs that incorporate these elements are easily understood.
• There are observed similarities/differences in design interpretations across countries/regions; clusters with similar patterns are noticeable.

Guidelines for Designing or Modifying a Logo

• Specific design objectives are necessary when choosing or modifying logos (for varied regions).
• Effective logos rely on clear, universally recognizable attributes.
• Logo designs should not reflect fleeting trends, but instead convey meaningful and well-understood attributes.

Nation Brands Index (NBI) - Germany in Top Position

• Germany consistently ranks high in international reputation.
• Its workforce and products are highly valued.

The Country-of-Origin Effect

• Country image can influence perceptions of a product, especially concerning product quality.
• Product origin is crucial for high-involvement products (e.g., automobiles) but not for low-involvement products (e.g., lubricating oil).
• Country image can impact consumers' perception of a product's quality.

Cultural Variation of Country-of-Origin Effects

• The origin of a product can influence consumer perceptions, especially when considering the target culture.
• Vertical individualism (desire to perform better) can lead to favorable product evaluations if products originate from one’s home country.
• Similar effects can be observed, but in opposite directions, for collectivist cultures.

Foreign Branding Implicitly Uses Country-of-Origin Effects

• Brand names can implicitly suggest a country of origin.
• Examples include brands that sound similar to names from particular European countries but are rooted in other places like China.

What Happens if Consumers Recognize the Incongruence?

• Negative effects can arise if consumers understand that a product's country of origin is inconsistent with its brand name.
• These negative effects are particularly apparent for hedonic products (e.g., more subjective) compared to utilitarian products.
• Companies can use appropriate language or marketing techniques to mitigate this problem, like including rhetorical questions, to reduce unfavorable perceptions.

Ad Copy Techniques

• Using rhetorical questions in advertisements for hedonic products (products with less pragmatic values) can improve consumers’ acceptance of brands from countries that, originally, might be foreign, reducing negative connotations associated with the origin.